Whiteout Glazed in the Dusk
by Hiss13
Summary: The history of the Dawn-Colored Sunlight is a long one and with time comes the transition of power. But, this transition is never smooth. Such is only natural for cabals of magicians. On a snowy day, Mark Space recounts a certain whiteout-the day of the current boss's seizure of the cabal and her rocky transition.


The preparations were under way. For the members of the Dawn-Colored Sunlight, this was a very important mission. It needed to be prepared with the utmost precision. While multiple members of the Dawn-Colored Sunlight were scurrying around the room, Mark stood next to the window with his eyes mainly directed at the device in his hands.

"Mark, what's the status on the target?" A woman in a suit much like all of the other cabal members asked Mark as she continued to set something up near the door.

"The target is currently following the predicted route. There are no anomalies detected."

They were tracking a target on a device through a GPS signal they somehow rigged onto a credit card she carried. The target was slated to return back to the room and once that happened, the plan would commence. It was only a matter of time.

But, seeing as the target was still quite far away from the room, Mark Space turned his head out to look at the window. He watched as the snow fell outside and accumulated on the ground into what was likely already half a foot height.

 _Come to think of it…that day was like this too, wasn't it?_ Mark thought to himself as he watched the snow lazily fall down.

* * *

It was odd. Even though she was a prodigy, it was quite hard to accept the fact that the girl in front of them was their boss. To think a girl at the age of ten would become so adept at Golden-style magic that she would be able to take over as the boss of the Dawn-Colored Sunlight, one of the most infamous cabals in Britain, was inconceivable. But, it was still happening.

The girl that stood before them smiled as she made her announcement. "I am Leivinia Birdway. Starting today, I will be taking over the Dawn-Colored Sunlight as its boss."

Muttering began to resound throughout the members of the cabal at the sound of the announcement.

"Isn't she still to young?"

"Has nepotism gone too far?"

"I get that the Birdway family and the Dawn-Colored Sunlight have been intertwined for decades but isn't this too much?"

Doubt concerning the leadership capabilities of the ten-year old boss had spread like wildfire throughout the members of the cabal. But, it was to be expected. Even Mark Space, who had been like a right-hand to the previous boss had his own qualms about the young prodigy taking over.

But, unlike the others, Mark simply kept his thoughts to himself. At least, that was the plan until one of his associates ended up poking his arm and asking a question. "Hey, Mark. You were essentially the former boss's right-hand so I assume you met with Leivinia before. What is she like?"

Mark frowned. "She's a prodigy whose skill with Golden-Style Magic is quite incredible."

His associate became confused at the dissonance in Mark's words and tone. "Huh? That sounds like a good thing. Someone like that could only enhance our cabal's ability."

"She may be a prodigy, but she really doesn't fit the bill as the leader of a cabal. Her disposition led to her being quite…demanding and bratty at times…Honestly, her sister Patricia would have fit the bill better. She seemed far more mature. Really, it's disappointing that she ended up leaning towards science rather than magic. She's also a genius in her own right."

"Demanding…and bratty…that might not be a good combination…"

"It really isn't. I just hope that the cabal doesn't fall apart as a result of the new shift in leadership."

As if she was listening in on what Mark was saying, Leivinia immediately spoke, "Now, I know some of you have some doubts about the directions the cabal will take from here due to the shift in leadership." With that, Leivinia crossed her arms and puffed out her chest. "But there is no need for alarm. The cabal's purpose will not shift, nor will the change in leadership harm the cabal in any way."

Even after that murmurs resounded as rumors and doubts continued to float through the audience.

"Of course, I'm sure my words are not enough. That's why I will be taking complete control over the next operation. Of course, I will be taking Mark along."

"Eh?" Mark pointed at himself, quickly questioning the judgement of his boss before the gears in his mind ground to a halt.

* * *

"Miss Leivinia, don't you think you're rushing too quickly into this?" Mark said, sitting in a normal chair opposite to his new boss's.

"I know I'm rushing but you know as well as I do that people are not going to take kindly to a shift in the leadership of this organization to a ten-year-old girl." Leivinia sighed before taking a sip out of the glass of Raspberry Limeade in her hand. The solemn expression on her face switched to one that exemplified an aura of giddiness. "Mmm…this is actually really good. Nice work, Mark!"

"Thanks, Miss Leivinia, but…"

"Ahem, right…" She said, before placing the glass back down onto the table. "I'm sure the others think that it's rash and too early for someone like me to take over. Hell, I even heard the term nepotism being thrown around."

"Well, a new boss means a change in tone for the organization. Whenever there's a shift in leadership, it's obvious that there will be some negative reactions to that."

"I know. Even you have your own doubts for that reason. I can't go off on everyone for unreasonable doubts but I absolutely want to avoid the cabal falling apart as a result of my induction as the leader and the nature of how magicians operate. The organization is unstable so the faster I can stabilize it, the better."

"So that's why…"

"Yes. All I have to do is produce results in line with the cabal's goals. Even if we lose a few members in the process, we can stabilize the organization by eliminating doubts of my capabilities and producing results."

Mark was honestly surprised. For someone who was new as the boss, she knew exactly how to run an organization like the Dawn-Colored Sunlight. He could not imagine how much time and effort she had put into making sure that she would transition to power as smoothly as possible. Perhaps she really would fit in as leader of a cabal who analyzes leaders and charismatic people from all walks of life to seize the core of the world.

Mark could not help but hold suspicions over how well his new boss would perform. However, he was at least willing to hear her out. "So, what is this operation you have suggested?"

"Does the term 'magic god' sound familiar to you?"

"It's a nebulous concept but I know what it is. It's the name given to denote an entity that has mastered magic."

"Theoretically, they can distort the world without exception. Though, that is something that we have yet to see happen. At least, none of the previous bosses of the cabal have ever witnessed the birth or even the existence of a magic god."

"So, what do magic gods have to do with this operation you're suggesting?"

"What do you think it would take to become a magic god?"

"Well, mastery of magic would require decades upon decades in order to acquire the necessary knowledge, ignoring contamination that grimoires cause, and even then, being able to use that knowledge would also take many years. So, I would say that such a thing would be infeasible, even if someone somehow gained immortality."

"Even so, the very concept of someone seeking to attain that status can be enough to shift the entire world of magic. It could cause an entire era to orbit around one person. The changes that arise would be far too unpredictable and would be far more of a pain to us than useful to us. Those who attempt to grab at that power are too twisted for the cabal to research and should be crushed as quickly as possible."

"In other words, there's some cabal attempting to create a magic god and you wish to eliminate that threat before any possible upheavals are caused, correct?"

"Exactly. You and I are going to work to annihilate the 'Marsh of Underworld Convergence', a cabal focusing on Ancient Greek Magic, in order to prevent the possibility of a magic god being born."

"I'm surprised you would be able to get all of this intelligence. Are you sure that it's even correct?"

"It really is not that difficult to get information Necessarius acquired from their interrogations. Thanks to that, I can at least be sure that my information is accurate."

"Then, why are you not leaving it to Necessarius? You should know how much our cabal has clashed with the Anglican Church before. What if-"

"They won't. At least, so long as we can take care of it first. An organization like Necessarius still will operate on some level like a bureaucracy. It will take some time before they can mount orders against the target cabal. In the meantime, we can act on our own, showing to the world around us and to our own cabal that the shift in leadership does not mean a weakening or shift in the cabal itself."

"So, I take it I have no right to refuse this."

"None, whatsoever." Leivinia crossed her arms, puffed out her chest, and let a smile beam out from her face. "So, get all the spiritual items you need ready. We leave for Tewkesbury in an hour."

* * *

As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but snow. Even the Severn and Avon Rivers had a thin coat of ice resting on top of their surfaces. Upon that small island that touched the meeting point of those rivers, a thick coat of snow covered the grass to the point that there was nothing to see but the color white dying the ground and flying through the sky like noise on an old cathode ray tube television.

At the southeastern edge of the island, adjacent to the Avon, two figures stood overlooking that snow-filled plain. One was the boss of the Dawn-Colored Sunlight, standing in her chic piano-like dress and stockings and wearing a white long-coat over that. The other was a tall blond man in a black formal suit and white gloves.

"I'm surprised you can walk around this snow in just that suit, Mark." Leivinia walked in swirling pattern as she stared at the snowy ground.

"You'd be surprised how well the Seven of Wands works as a personal heater. Though, I'll assume I'd have to shut this off once you find the entrance."

"Don't even bother, Mark." The young girl stopped moving. In a second, her she spun her symbolic weapon in its initial form, the wand. A line of flames erupted in front of her, extending for ten meters, melting the snow in its path and around it.

As the flames extinguished, a name was revealed, imprinted on a large metal plate with a set of hinges on the left.

Χάρων.

"As I expected. The moment we enter, we will be detected regardless of whether we shut down any magic." Leivinia took out two silver coins from her pocket. "Charon is the entrance point for mere mortals into the underworld. By that respect, Charon also monitors who enters. If we destroy this spiritual item used as a gateway, then the cabal will likely expect intruders."

Leivinia placed the two coins into holes on the large metal panel. "On the other hand, if we enter normally, we have a chance of fooling our enemies into thinking we are just returning allies as Charon is indiscriminate to those who board so long as they pay the fare."

The metal panel opened downwards, pivoting slowly around the hinges on the left hand side before fixing itself perpendicular to the ground, allowing the two coins to fall out and down the open shaft. After a second, the sound of two objects falling into water echoed.

"Do you have a plan, boss?"

"Focus on getting past any lower tier magicians and eliminate the leader of the cabal. Once we get rid of her, there will be no point for the other cabal members to continue."

"In other words, focus on running away until we can find the linchpin of their operation." Mark sighed. "Are you sure about this, boss. It seems more like you're winging this."

A smile of exhilaration slowly formed and widened on the girl's face. "I am absolutely sure about this." She tilted her head and looked into dark maw of the underworld before her. "Let's get this started, Mark. The moment we enter, the maw to the cabal's base will likely shut. We'll be in the enemy headquarters with no easy way out, so let's make this quick."

With that, the new boss of the Dawn-Colored Sunlight jumped straight into the shaft without looking back. "Honestly, is the boss just reckless, crazy, or just a magician down to the bone…?" He sighed once again before following suit, leaving the maw of the underworld to snap shut above him.

* * *

It was a narrow tunnel. Lighting for it was non-existent and there were only thin paths adjacent to either wall to walk on. In terms of stealth, it was far better than walking in the stream of cold water slowly flowing down the middle of the pathway.

"It's too empty." Leivinia sighed. Her right hand held a flame in its palm that provided light for about a few meters around herself and Mark. "How are we this deep into enemy territory without even encountering a single magician?"

"I would assume that they are all busy with making sure the ceremony runs smoothly."

"It wouldn't make sense for them to forgo all security for that and I doubt they would perform the ceremony if they were understaffed. There haven't even been any traps or even any hints of enemy detection."

"Perhaps the intelligence was incorrect?"

"I'm starting to think that was a possibility. However, I have no doubt that we are within their main headquarters."

"You're referring to the stream, right?"

"Most likely, they're using the meandering path of flowing water to symbolize a river. Considering that we came in through the entrance engraved with the name 'Charon', I can only surmise that this one symbolizes the River Styx."

"So, we'll just be following this path until the end?"

"If they've worked enough to create a River Styx, then they've likely worked to create the other four rivers and their convergence point. That location is likely where the ritual will take place."

"If that location is empty, then what?"

"There are a few back-up locations. While the location we are headed to is more of a strict interpretation, there are other ways of interpreting the location."

"So, you want to take a brute force approach, going through these locations one-by-one?"

"It may not be the most streamlined approach, but it's the best I could manage in such a limited time." The girl stopped talking as she let her right-hand ponder. She was fully aware that her plans were not the best at the moment. She was even fully aware of the fact that her own image in her subordinate's eyes was not very polished.

She was about to sigh before she felt the feeling of the floor below her feet suddenly disappearing once the soles of her shoes made contact. "Gah!"

"Boss!" Mark rushed to grab at her hand before she could fall through but all he ended up grabbing was air. The body had fallen through before the sound of a shallow splash reached his ears two seconds later.

"Bo-"

"I'm fine, Mark!"

"But-"

"Don't question my order! Go on ahead without me! Annihilating Styx is our number one priority. I'll find a way to catch up from here so just go!"

Mark gritted his teeth. While his leader's safety was a priority, it was hardly a good idea to defy her orders. There was no point in lingering. He simply nodded before taking off in the direction that they were initially going.

"Don't die on me, Mark." She muttered to nobody in particular before moving on her own.

* * *

Despite running throughout the labyrinthine underground of river island, there continued to be neither sight nor sound of another human being in sight. There were barely any traps either as only a sparse amount had even activated in response to Mark's movements.

The lack of personnel and the lack of defense mechanisms was far too out of the ordinary. Nobody would be ever able to traverse this much of a cabal's headquarters without facing some attempt at retribution. Yet here he was.

 _What's going on here?_

Mark's mind raced through the intelligence one more time. The cabal called 'Marsh of Underworld Convergence' was attempting to create a magic god. Their cabal was centered around the use of Ancient Greek magic. He and the boss had traversed onto what was their hideout after being let in by the representation of the ferryman.

There was something missing. But he couldn't put his finger on it. As he his feet continued to step off solid ground that flanked the stream of water on each side, something began to come into view in the river.

It was faint at first, but it was the color red dying the water. At first, he questioned whether he was seeing what he thought he was, but the eventual sight of human skulls combined with the scent of iron being carried by water vapor in the air made it plainly evident.

At that moment, the missing pieces clicked in.

 _"I see you've come to understand your position here."_

A siren-like voice resounded throughout that hallway as Mark immediately let a card fall onto his hand from within his sleeve and jumped forward on that rocky surface. As soon as his free hand touched the ground, three steel spears thrust into where he was standing and stabbed into the wall. The masonry of the wall cracked as the spears drove themselves into it.

There was no need for him to linger. Without a moment's delay, Mark charged straight down that dry path, all the while keeping his balance to prevent himself from falling into the water.

Once the spears caused their damage, they dissolved into the water before reforming to attack in the next spot over, continuing the cycle over a period of half a second as Mark continued to barely evade each and every one of them.

Were they automatically set to attack or were they being controlled by whoever was the owner of that voice? Despite the critical nature of the question, Mark had no time to formulate an answer as he continued to push himself forward, just barely evading by a hair's breadth each time.

All he could comprehend was the broader picture of what was going on. He was in the River Styx, the river of hatred. With the right materials, bloody corpses of those who sought retribution, placed in the river and the position of Charon, the cabal could turn the river into a defensive spell on its own.

Yet despite all of that, he was fully aware that the spell could have been activated long ago. In fact, everything was going too smoothly for him. The voice, being able to survive, his frantic pace. All of it felt engineered.

That was made ever more evident by the end of the tunnel that had finally come into his view in the horizon. As soon as he was only two meters from the end of the corridor, he finally saw it.

Five different streams of water coming from five different entrances interconnected in all possible combinations while creating a large pentagonal island capable of holding hundreds of people, all surrounded by numerous polygonal islands. Standing at the apex facing the entrance Mark was coming to was a lone woman. She glared at his approaching form with dilated pupils within her cold, azure irises. Her wavy and long fiery-red hair matched the intensity of her gaze. She was clad in a simple pitch-black, open-shouldered dress overlain with a pure shawl held by cyan gloves made of thin fabric. In stark contrast to both the chill in the air and the rest of her attire, her feet were completely exposed. To the untrained eye, it was all simply a mishmash made to imitate the elegance of high society. Though, to anyone in their world, it was fairly evident everything about her was purposeful.

As soon as he reached the border between the corridor and the wide-open space, he flung the card in his hand towards that pentagonal island. He dropped a new card from his sleeve into his hand right as the prior card stabbed into the ground behind her.

In the next instant, he was standing right where the card had landed. Without a moment's hesitation, he followed up the One of Swords with the card that lay in his hand right then, the Two of Swords, tossing it in front of him towards her.

In all likelihood, the woman before him was the target, going by the name Styx. There was no point in talking to her. There was no point in attempting to reason with or listening to her. All he needed to do was eliminate her. That was the task that he and the boss had undertaken.

With his magic, he would split Styx's mind and body apart before dealing the final blow. It would be a cold, ruthless, and quick ending, fitting of the image that the current leadership of the cabal needed to portray.

But, while the card was activating, a stream of blades and a stream of fire flew in opposite directions from each other towards that card, creating a hellish wall that separated the two as she turned around to face him. Instinctively, Mark jumped two steps back before activating his next card, causing a sword of wind to form in his hand.

"My, my. How hasty." The woman rested her right index finger on her jaw and tilted her head ever so slightly towards it. "You figured out the nature of this place, haven't you? You already realized the mechanism behind the original attack, so surely you didn't think it'd be that easy."

Mark refused to respond and simply swung the sword in his hand to the side, causing a great wind pressure, slicing away the flames before him and splitting apart the bent and fragile spears that were forming her barrier.

If the water sending out the blades was Styx, then it was obvious that the source of the flames was River Phlegethon. Moreover, it was highly likely that the bodies of water surrounding the land they stood on now were the five rivers of the underworld: Styx, Cocytus, Phlegethon, Lethe, and Acheron. In other words, he was standing on her domain—a marsh where the rivers of the underworld converged.

"Good, good." The woman smiled as she continued speaking as if she didn't have a care in the world. "Your eyes tell me you understand the situation. The ritual is mostly complete."

With a snap of her fingers, a well opened up many feet behind Mark at the very center of the pentagonal island. Following, five trenches opened up from that center, extending to the sides of the island, allowing for the water from each individual river to flow in until they all coalesced.

"For the sake of uniting the living and the dead." Despite her smile and despite the looseness of her movements, there was nothing even slightly half-assed about her words. "I can't have a peon like you interfering with our dream."

Magicians were like children with knives. In the face of some great betrayal by the world, all they could do was toss their bets with the world of magic and hold steadfast to it. The woman called Styx was no different. After all, that was the will that she had poured into even the name of her cabal.

"Even so, I can't let things progress in your favor." He was the same. He could understand her, to some extent. However, that did not mean he could yield to her. As these two children whose wills contradicted stood, there was no point to words. They could only clash until one of them was snuffed. _In that case..._

Without another word, Mark swung the sword one last time, letting out a slice cut through the ground beneath him as it threatened to cut into her. The attack was enough that the very blade that produced it scattered into the ether. But the woman did not even flinch. Her feet walked forward, two steps closer to the filling well, as she let her hands move above her head. Instantly, two walls of ice formed in front of her and took the brunt of the attack before shattering to pieces.

Without any concern for the ice shards flying all over, she simply walked forward. Her gaze darted around, however. The man was no longer in her line of sight. As her bare feet continued to tread over the sacred ground, the sound of cracking ice reached her ears. Her head immediately darted to the sight of a card floating mid air over a path of ice being cracked under pressure. Without a hint of movement, a spout of flames erupted from Phlegethon and cut through that path.

As soon as the lack of a smoldering corpse registered, Styx turned her head to see Mark standing right behind her holding a separate card from before. A wall of ice sprouted right between the two before the woman took a knee.

Without delay, a wind attack sliced straight through the ice, shattering it before rising up towards the ceiling and breaking through.

"You failed," she muttered.

"Not quite." Before she could cement her checkmate, Mark charged straight into her, grabbing her by the hem of collar of her dress. While Styx struggled to fight off Mark's grapple, she saw the world around her change.

Her knees were cold and damp as frigid melt-water seeped through her dress. Her feet took in the sensation of a cold, clumpy substance that made its way between her toes. The visibility had been dropped to zero by a raging blizzard. Her eyes darted around until she found a card stabbing into the snow between Mark's feet.

"You!" Her mind finally settled as she realized exactly what had happened to her. "Damn you!" Snow from around her compressed into a gauntlet around her fists. She would simply punch through his wind attacks and smash him.

But, in that moment, the man let go and an explosion rang out, throwing her back at least five meters as the ice shattered around her. Without skipping a beat after landing face first, she forced herself back up, to see the man stand up drop another card to his feet.

Did he think he had the advantage because he had landed a hit on her?

Did he think he had the advantage because he had taken away from the marsh that was her territory?

Did he think he had the advantage because he had knocked her to the ground?

 _MY_

 _DOMAIN_

 _IS_

 _ENDLESS._

The woman's veins grew more prominent on her head as she stood up. Her brow had furrowed in complete rage. There was nothing more than the completely deserved ire that she was directing at this lone obstacle who was running towards her.

 _DON'T_

 _YOU_

 _DARE_

 _UNDERESTIMATE_

 _ME!_

"REUNIRE080! For the sake of our reunions with loves long past!"

With the cry of her magic name, she clenched her fists and crossed her arms. Icy spears rose from all over the vicinity as they slammed straight into the man, impaling each of his limbs before throwing him back the way she was thrown.

That was checkmate. That was the magician's resolve.

* * *

His arms and legs were completely sprawled out over the ground. There were holes on each of his limbs. He was unsure if they had severed any nerves but the result seemed to be the same regardless. He couldn't move. Even though his trunk remained pristine barring a few bruises from the falls, he couldn't pull himself up.

Even as he tried to push himself up with his hands, he was unable to bring forth any strength to do so. Moreover, the cold air was stinging those puncture wounds and the danger of them necrotizing in these harsh conditions was looming over him much like his enemy's wrath.

He had been halted at the last step.

The boss was far out of reach.

He could still go on.

He forced himself to move. He would keep on forcing himself to stand up.

"I won't ask for your forgiveness or your last words." The woman simply spoke as he continued to try forcing himself onto his hands and knees, slipping and failing with each attempt. Flames had begun to rise through the hole he had created earlier. "I'm sure nothing would be more of an insult to you."

With those last words, the flames flew straight at him. Mark clenched his teeth and closed his eyes to brace himself for the incoming attack.

But seconds passed and he could feel none of the heat that was meant to kill him. Instead, he heard the sound of liquid drops falling onto the snow before a voice broke through the wind.

"Really, Mark. You look awful."

As he opened his eyes, the figure of his boss in her piano-motif dress stood before him. Blood was dripping down her sleeves and her coat onto the snow beneath her as she stood with her usual smug expression.

"You don't look so hot, yourself, boss." Mark gave a smirk from his pathetic position as he looked straight into his boss's eyes. Despite her injuries and her right hand in his pathetic position, her eyes were nothing short of stalwart, proud, and debonair.

 _Those are wonderful eyes._ That lone thought went through his head as he chortled in a couple breaths.

"The Hanged Man was only meant to divert piercing attacks, unfortunately. It was not the best of judgments." Despite the self-derision uncharacteristic of her, she still smiled.

"That being said, you can leave the rest to me, Mark. There's no point if I don't get to show off a little." Despite her status, he could fully believe her as she turned to face the overwhelming enemy who held domain over the island. And so, he needed no more words.

"I am Leivinia Birdway, regnum771!" She pointed her symbolic weapon at the magician gritting her teeth in pure frustration. "The ruler who will seize the core of the world!"

Thus roared the uncontested boss of the Dawn-Colored Sunlight.

* * *

"The target is nearing the building!" One of the suited magicians had informed as she kept watch of the position of the aforementioned credit card via the device she had taken from Mark.

"All the preparations are complete?" Mark called for quick order as spotted two short, blonde girls walking in the snow towards the building from the window.

The rest all signed a thumbs up without a single word. After all, they could not let their target know of their presence or actions.

"Then, places, everyone!" Mark clapped his hands to signal back to everyone.

The magicians all picked up various tools before hiding themselves in various locations scattered about the venue. With a final scan over the area to make sure everything was in place, Mark ran to the light switches and shrouded everything in a veil of complete darkness.

With that, the plan was set. The moment the door was opened, it would all begin. Tension took shape within the silence as the arduous wait lasted well into minutes.

And then.

The door thrust open and the light from the hall outside quickly poured in, revealing the silhouettes of two young girls.

At that moment, Mark threw the switches, letting the light inundate the room as the many suited magicians jumped out of their hiding spots, throwing around streamers and activating their party poppers.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BOSS!"

The room quickly fell into awkward silence as they realized that their boss had, on instinct, dropped her bags and was pointing her symbolic weapon at them all. She turned her head back to face her little sister who was right behind her. "Were you in on this, Patricia?"

"Sorry, sis. But it _is_ a surprise party."

Hiding her symbolic weapon, she turned her head back to face her subordinates.

"Well, what're you waiting for? This is supposed to be a party."

"YEAH!"

The guest of honor walked in towards the cake seated near the window and the festivities began. As he closed the door, Mark could have honestly sworn that he saw her blushing. But, frankly, there was no need to call attention to it.

This was meant to be a celebration for the cabal's beloved boss, after all.

* * *

 **Oddly enough, this one was one I started writing a long time ago before putting it to rest halfway in between. I ended up picking this one back up only recently and finished the rest of it together. Maybe you'll notice the change in writing style that resulted from that.**

 **I do feel that I may be rusty on fight scenes and that probably shows just as much as the change in writing style. Hopefully, I can polish up on that as my next works will require better writing on that front.**

 **That being said, this was just a fun one-shot that I came up with on a pure whim and one that ended up being more serious in nature than my prior ones. I do quite enjoy the Birdway Sisters so this was probably the natural result. I had quite the set of notes I set up for this-from everything regarding Styx to some more spells for Mark to possibly use outside the ones he used in canon. I'm glad I got to use a fair amount of the Styx stuff. Writing a Greek Cabal-or in this case, its leader only-was pretty fun as well.**

 **I hope you all enjoyed reading this. Till the next time my pages reach your eyes.**


End file.
